Public policy Factors Associated with Effectiveness of Working Environment and Quality of Life among Military Policemen in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is a violent society and police officers play a fundamental role in this scenario. Police work is a stressful occupation, dealing with routine violence, police officers must have high standards of physical and mental health. The problem has a negative impact on the life quality of security officers, who play an important role in insecurity issues. Because without security, economic development is a futile dream. A cross-sectional design study investigated a random sample of 525 male military police officers, engaged in patrolling the streets of Salvador, Brazil. The accessible population was composed of all the 4700 military police officers from 32 battalions. The study included only males, engaged in visible patrolling in public spaces in the city, and excluded those who were on medical leave, engaged in administrative functions, or in specific situations not related to their core-activity. Health-related quality of life was evaluated through the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire (SF-36). Preliminary data collection required self-administered questionnaires for the target population. The expert applied the test re-test technique to choose the reliability of the exam study. To establish the relationship between the variables, Pearson correlation analysis was performed on the dependent and independent variables confidence interval. The study found that the Physical Component Summary was associated with poor work ability (P < 0.001). The mean Physical Component Summary was 3.368 units lower among those with poor work.The study concludes that the military police officers investigated presented low health-related quality of life, associated with younger age, excessive alcohol consumption, and poor work ability. Therefore, improving police working environment through timely promotion will play an important role in improving the life quality of the Brazil’s military policemen. Keywords: Promotion procedure, Duty assignment, Deployment, Life quality, working conditions: